Dear Sir: I Write Today to Take Issue with Even the Thought of Taking the Florida Panthers Off the Endangered Species Act. What
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From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: (no subject) Date: Saturday, July 22, 2017 1:04:59 PM Dear Sir: I write today to take issue with even the thought of taking the Florida Panthers off the Endangered Species Act. What justification is there for this? These animals are being slaughtered on the roads all the time. We just find them dead of the road. Do any of these drivers ever stop to help the wounded animals? Do they report the incidents? I would really like to know the answers to some of my questions. What protections do they have? Do we have lower speed limits on the areas where they are known to cross? Do the police patrol these areas? How many of these animals do you want to kill? Same thing with the bears. It seems that all you care about is giving hunters a free pass to kill everything that isn't already dead. Why can't these people shoot at empty beer cans if they want target practice. I have written to you people in the past and nothing comes of it. You already know that the vast majority of citizens want to protect animals, not kill them. You don't seem to listen to them at all. You already have your minds made up in advance against these animals. Will you even read this letter? I would like to hear from you and learn about your views on the subject. What do you consider a fair number of animals to be allowed to live? They should all be allowed to live with their families just the way you want to live with your family. Remember that they were here before we were. What gives us the right to harm them? You call yourselves wildlife protection biologists. I think that is a joke. All you really want to do is sell tickets to hunters to pay your salaries. I hope you receive a large number of replies like mine and actually take them to heart. I doubt that will happen. It never does. Seems to me that all you want to do is give the hunters a free pass to kill all the wildlife. Of course when that happens you won't have a job. I hope you take my words and all the other responses into consideration at your next meeting. I will be watching. I would like to hear from you if you have time and I pray that you will vote to save these precious animals, not destroy them. John Pernetti Cape Coral [email protected] From: James To: [email protected] Subject: "Panthers" (or Cougars/Pumas/Mountain Lions) in the State of Florida Date: Thursday, July 6, 2017 3:33:27 PM 6 July 2017 Dear Mr. Shindle, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you my opinion about a Review of the Legal Status of the (so called) “Florida Panther” that I understand you are undertaking. Let me begin by saying I am only writing because I remember meeting you about three years ago when I visited the Headquarters of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. You were kind enough to not only be hospitable (a rare treatment for me by many of your fellow USFWS employees) but your patient and well stated explanations of what was happening with the human communities and “panthers” both on and off the Refuge, including your taking the time to take me to a site on the Refuge in order to further place things in perspective, was greatly appreciated. I believe you will take honest comments to heart. In all honesty, it is because of your informed honesty and openness to facts that causes me to take time out of a busy schedule to write you about your undertaking. Consider these as “Comments” from a retired USFWS Wildlife Biologist, Wetland Biologist, US Game Management/Special Agent, National Wildlife Refuges Chief of Operations, Budget Analyst, and Congressional Fellow. Additionally; I have a BS in Wildlife Resources from Utah State University, a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Northern Colorado and work as a part-time employee of the Utah Fish and Game. I have served 4 years in the US Navy as a Line Officer (2 in the western Pacific aboard ship and 2 on Adak Island in the middle of the Aleutian Islands where I moved Top Secret material under guard from Adak, Amchitka and Shemya government facilities). I know biology, taxonomy and large mammals/predators as well as anyone. First, Walker’s Mammals of the World states, “The mountain lion or puma, Felis concolor, has the largest range of any species of native mammal in the New World, (my emphasis). It occurs from British Columbia in Canada to Patagonia in South America.” - It is absurd to single out any population segment of such an abundant and widely-occurring animal as in any way evoking federal “protection”, “management” of other hegemony. Such an action has been akin to utilizing the natural small size of Key Deer in small food-impoverished islands , or the coyote-like properties of “red” wolves in settled landscapes, or solitary behavior of pale “Mexican” wolves living in a food-poor desert environment as excuses for federal intervention at the un-Constitutional expense of States’ Rights as described in the 10th Amendment or the “welfare” and “domestic Tranquility” of rural communities in the broadest sense. Second, Federal “Florida Panther” intervention under the auspices of the ESA has only led to an increasingly preposterous situation: -1. Over-populated cougars in poor health. -2. Science-fiction-like fencing along a state highway that both isolates multiple wildlife populations and traps unsuspecting mountain lions in a bowling alley- like booby trap. -3. So-called highway underpasses in areas of high water tables and thickening vegetation that are little more than table-talk nonsense. -4. Disappearing deer and turkey populations as National Park Service and State Park realtors loom like buzzards in trees watching hunting and fishing die so that they can swoop down and consume the remains of hunt camps and access trails to then exclude everyone from an environment that once (and could again) supported vibrant hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation. -5. Increasing puma presence in areas of high road traffic, dense housing tracts and populated humanity results only in chaos and destruction. If dead cougars on the highway, car accidents injuring and killing occupants, increasingly dangerous incidents of human/mtn. lion encounters with children and the elderly and a population of panthers that thanks to constant human familiarity (habituation) are little more than feral house cats (but for their weight, size and deadly capabilities) making a living killing pets and seeking food in (one CA cougar just invaded a CA bedroom where a Mom and child were to kill and take their pet do back out) and around homes, schools, bus stops, etc. – if all these and more such panther/human destructive policies are what you want then, like the definition of insanity, as “doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome” would indicate no need for your review and your report could read just like a US Navy Ship’s Log Entry when underway in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in calm, sunny weather when no course or other change takes place, i.e. “Steaming as Before.” Finally, recent history when viewed honestly shows a genetic/DNA mixing of FL mtn. lions as several “Tom, Dicks and Harries” introduced pumas either into a panther-free environment or amongst a few remnant cougars in S. Florida. Whatever those cats may be or be said to be, they are no different than “red” wolves (i.e. dog/coyote/wolf crosses), or “native” wolves introduced into the Upper Rockies 25 years ago with stolen money that were taken from (Alberta?/Saskatchewan?/ Yukon?/British Columbia?) that is to say they are mongrels under the government rules that allow such rationales to oppress rural Americans while such silliness is justification for the federal bureaucracy to: A.) Take private property without compensation, B.) Frivolously say they are not responsible for the game / dogs / cats / calves / kids / goats / cows / sheep / lambs / etc. that these federally introduced predators kill and maim routinely, C.) Continue subverting the State Wildlife Agency and State Parks Agency to enabling federal bureaucrat’s Budget and Personnel-Building instead of opposing the federal actions that are bollixing-up S Florida and representing the welfare and wishes of state residents instead of federal bureaucrats or environmental/animal rights’ extremists. A Short List of how the federal government has and is bollixing-up S Florida would include” - Changing the sheet water drainage South over the Everglades thereby demolishing freshwater fisheries, boating and natural biomes. - Draining polluted water through the Big Cypress from Okeechobee out through Cape Coral thereby poisoning fisheries and boating water quality. - Establishing and refusing to manage an over-abundance of black bears while covering up incidents much as is being done with wolf and grizzly bear attacks and damages being covered up in many other states. - Allowing the importation of pythons, constrictors and a myriad of other dangerous and destructive wild animals, plants and fish that are infesting S Florida wildlands, rural precincts, suburbs and cities. This occurred while federal import enforcers had all the authority to ban their entry for over 80 years yet looked the other way for more money and personnel for the sexier things like Endangered Species and Invasive Species Authority that built budgets and gave what, 50 years ago, was once Constitutionally and practically unimaginable power and authority to federal bureaucrats.